Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

As Salaamu Alai Kum

I want to know the proper way to invite a friend/relative to namaz and how many times we should ask and also can we force him/her to pray the namaz.

The above question is mainly regarding on the work which the Tabliki Jamaat people are doing and i also want to know that is it complusory for a muslim to go in the Jamaat for 3/40 days or 4 months as they say.

Kindly suugest the proper method/technique to invite a person to Namaz and also that whether we can force or put pressure on the individual or not.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Invite to prayer

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

One cannot over-estimate the importance and significance of the element of prayer in Islam!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 103:

Indeed the Salaat is a prescribed duty that should be performed by the believers at (their) appointed times.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 45-46:

45 Nay seek (Allah's) help with patient perseverance and ‘salaah’: it is indeed hard except to those who bring a lowly spirit.

46 Who bear in mind the certainty that they are to meet their Lord and that they are to return to Him.

The Prophet (saws) said, "The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is the prayer, and the top of its hump is Jihad in the Way of Allah."

Jabir reports that the Prophet (saws) said, "Between a person and disbelief is discarding prayer."

Related by Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.

Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas reported that the Prophet (saws) one day mentioned the prayer and said, "Whoever guards and observes his prayer, they (his prayers) will be a light and a proof and a savior for him on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever does not guard and obvserve them, they will not be a light or a proof or a savior for him. On the Day of Resurrection, he will be with Qarun, Fir'aun, Haman and Ubayy ibn Khalf."

Related by Ahmad, at-Tabarani and Ibn Hibban.

Abu Hurairah reports that the Prophet (saws) said: "The first thing that the people will be called to account for on the Day of Resurrection will be the prayers. Our Lord will say to the Angels although He knows better: 'Look into the ‘Salah’ of My servant to see if he observed it perfectly or been negligent in it.’ So if he observed it perfectly it will be recorded to his credit, but if he had been negligent in it in any way, Allah would say: ‘See if My servant has any supererogatory (nafl) prayers.’ Then if he has any supererogatory prayers, Allah would say: ‘Make up the deficiency in My servant's obligatory prayer with his supererogatory prayers.' Thereafter all his actions will be examined in like manner"

Related by Abu Dawud.

Your Question: …..I want to know the proper way to invite a friend/relative to namaz and how many times we should ask and also can we force him/her to pray the namaz.

It is the duty of every believer to invite those who do not believe to the Truth of Islam…..but if one professes their belief in the Absolute Oneness of Allah Subhanah and the appointment of Prophet Mohamed (saws) as the Last and Final Messenger of Allah (saws), and then this person abandons or neglects his obligatory prayers, rest assured that there is no misfortune bigger than this on this earth!!!

To answer your question, if the person one wishes to invite to observe the obligatory prayers is from amongst one’s ward (for example, one’s wife, or son, or daughter, etc.)…indeed one has the legal right to even force such a person to observe their obligatory prayer.

But if the person one wishes to invite to observe the obligatory prayer is not from amongst one’s ward, but a friend, or a relative, or an acquaintance, one cannot force them to offer their prayer, but can only remind them, with patience and with wisdom, to fear Allah and observe their duty towards their Lord Who Created them.

Your Question: The above question is mainly regarding on the work which the Tabliki Jamaat people are doing and i also want to know that is it complusory for a muslim to go in the Jamaat for 3/40 days or 4 months as they say.

Dear and Beloved brother in Islam, there is absolutely no doubt that ‘tableeg’ or the propagation of the Truth to mankind is an obligatory duty and responsibility that the Lord Most Merciful has laid upon every person who sincerely believes in Him and the Last Day.

But contrary to popular belief that ‘tableeq’ is to leave one’s work and family and go with a particular set of people to a distant land to invite people to Islam for a certain number of days, is taking an extremely narrow and restricted meaning of the command! One can very well do ‘tableeg’ or invite others to the Truth of Islam from where one lives: to his family, his neighbors, his colleagues at work, his friends, loved ones, and the people he meets in his everyday life. It is definitely not obligatory for ‘every’ believer to leave his home, family, and work to travel the earth and invite people to the Truth of Islam to fulfill the command of ‘tableeg’! If some amongst the believers who have the means and the resources wish to travel the earth and invite others to the Truth of Allah, they will have their reward from their Lord Merciful.

If one studies the Seerah or Way of the Prophets of Allah, one would realize that in almost all the cases, the Noble Prophets of Allah invited their own community where they were born and grew up to the Truth of Islam.

It also makes common-sense that one who has lived a lifetime amongst his people, and they know his dealings, his actions, his behavior, his character, etc. it would obviously be easier for the people to listen to his ‘call’ and determine whether the person is indeed genuine in his preachings or not! But if one is a complete stranger and the people don’t know anything about him at all, and he comes from a distant place and starts inviting them to change their lives and follow what is said by Allah and His Messenger (saws), they would obviously find it difficult to digest what the person has to say!

Thus, in conclusion, ‘tableeg’ or the propagation of the Truth from the Quran and the Sunnah is indeed an obligatory duty on every believer who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day; but it is not obligatory for each and every one to leave their homes and travel to distant lands to fulfill this command. If some amongst the believers do travel and invite others to the Truth of Islam, it would suffice for the whole community or Ummah.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 112:

122 Nor should the believers all go forth together: if a contingent from every expedition remained behind, they could devote themselves to studies in religion and admonish the people when they return to them, that thus they (may learn) to guard themselves (against evil).

Travelling to distant lands specifically to propagate the Truth and inviting others to Islam (popularly recognized as ‘tableeg’) is what is known in Islamic Jurisprudence as ‘Fard Kifaayah’; if some amongst the believers fulfill this service, it would suffice for the whole community.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan